My Trip To The Nürburgring

I found it was time for me to do something for myself, after working allot and doing lots of stuff for others, it was time to treat myself to something "relaxing", so i began planning a 2 day trip to one of my favourite simulation tracks off all time, the legendary Nürburgring. I didn't want to go alone, since i thought it would be handy to have someone in the car to keep me from pushing to hard, so i took my best friend on this 2 day trip.

The trip to germany only became interesting after we entered the country, the Autobahn was supurb, and despite some roadwork, i managed to get the car over it's acclaimed topspeed. (seat claims 237kmh, we did 247kmh on the GPS) After we left the autobahn, the country side became alot more attractive, with hills and valleys with picturesque villages. Driving here was an absolute dream with on the really cool parts even indication signs before hand which said "Rasen ist out!" (racing not allowed)

When we entered the area surrounding the Nordschleife, the adrenaline buzz already started, untill out of nowhere, we saw a part of the track. With our knowledge of the track we knew that we where at "brünchen" and that the legendary Karussel couldn't be far back. We forgot when taking that section in a racecar, you're doing over 100mph and the "couldn't be far back" resulted in a 30 minute walk full of climbs and drops, untill the magic moment was there....

Karussel!

The best part was that everywhere there where marshal gates in the fence, which where all unlocked. So we ran towards the karussel for a magical concrete hug and some pictures

After we got back behind the fence, there was some sort of motorcycle group racing around the circuit, and when we walked back to the car, we first got overtaken by an ambulance (reasonably fast), then the AMG E63 pacecar (really pushing it) and a car ambulance with a trailer which wheels didnt seem to touch the ground. Arraving at the car the corner after brünchen was closed because of an accident, something which happens on a daily basis there..

Fastforwarding to the evening (circuit only open for touristenfahrten between 17.15 and 19.30)

arriving at the circuit at around 16.00 there already where some awesome cars, Z06, 997 GT2, 997 GT3 (new and old models), 993 Turbo, 993 Turbo S, M3's, M3 CSL, Gallardo's, Gallardo Super Leggera and ALOT more, but to our surprise, not one single Ferrari. After waiting for awhile, we could finally enter the circuit, and what a nightmare that was, the first lap...

First Lap
144 corners, and all for the first time in real life, and then you discover how many height diverences there are in this circuit, and how fast the circuit actually is. On top of this you get overtaken by practicly everything and it really is scary as hell. (certainly after the reality slap of a Golf Vr6 parked into the wall just a minute after he overtook me) After that first lap I really thought: "oh **** another 3 laps to go! (we timed the first lap aswell, 12.45 minutes, and thats from leaving the compound to entering it again, with roadworks around brünchen (maxspeed 50kmh)

Second Lap
After a short break it was time for our second lap, we decided that we would stick together (we met some other friends there in a peugeot 307) for taking some pictures. You can see these really turned out awesome, and im very fond of them Although we said we would still take it easy, our adrenaline started to kick in and push away the fear factor, and we where taking the sections we knew alot faster now. I could follow the 307 well in my set limits, i overtook the 307 on the fast back part (before karussel) and drove into karussel for the first time (first lap i only took it with half the car, which sucked a bit since i scraped my bottom), very weird feeling, and it seems to last forever before you go out of it. After this some nice fast sweeps untill the roadworks which really where an ideal resting point after which the fast section came, one of my favourite parts, with enormous G-forces at Pflanzgarten. You really can't describe the feeling there, you just get planted into your seat and try to keep your head upwards. Near the end i reach my 200kmh before braking to enter the parking again.

Third Lap
Our co drivers swap places, so my co driver can try to film me on the circuit. The plan was to take it easy again, but our confidence rises and the bendy bits are being taken at higher speeds and ideal lines are starting to feel more natural. You can see in the movie that i'm taking it quite slow on straights and corner entry's so i wont drive out of sight of the camera car. After the roadworks i however decide to go out on my own, and really gun it throug the final sections. AMAZING

Final Lap
My confidence is really up now, and all corners are being taken with ideal lines. The addiction is infecting me, but i still manage to stay well within the limits of my car (also with some help of my co-driver who temporarily takes over the thinking part of my brain). During all laps i've never had a moment of "oh ****" or "what the hell is happening" I take the straights not fully, and most shifts are well before the redline, keeping in mind that the car already had done 500km's that day, i just want to keep it in one piece. Our final timed lap is just over 11 minutes, and with roadworks and keeping it within the limits, i'm very happy with the time. Leonie had done a great job and she deserved a shoulder tap. I recommendend everyone to take their first laps within their limits, it's not called the green hell because of its forgivness

This was just my first recon of the circuit, i will go back for sure! The car can do under 9 minutes, but i however can't...... YET!

"The Day After"
After a nice refreshing jump in our private swimming pool (4 star hotel rocks) we went back en route and drove around the area for a while. We stopped near flugplatz and noticed that the VLN classes had their training day. These guys where really gunning it, and i clocked a Z4m with a time of 6.39, mega impressive and insanly fast! After this we visited the Nürburg Castle where within 100meters of the castle, we found this:

A garage with only Cupra R's, speciale build for the nordschleife, what a bizar coincidence that was

After that we traveled back home, and 1000km and 100 liters of fuel later, and seeing so many great things, i could still feel the adrenaline and i couldnt sleep for 2 days because of it

here are some pics we took, most by us, and some by photographers on the side of the ring. There is a link for the movie aswell, enjoy!

Visiting the Ring is one of those things I'll do when I have a car that I can have some fun with. How does the SimBin version compare ?

Click to expand...

i have compared it directly after my trip, and i noticed that the simbin version is allot brighter then in reall life. The flow of the track is as good as it can get with the ISI engine, by far the best version i've driven, and i drove on alot of versions